Processor upgrade help please!

My son has a HP pavilion Slimline s3620f desktop pc. He wants it to be quicker in the game playing. We upgraded his Memory from 2GB to 4GB. He is using 1 GeForce 7100 graphics card. His processor is an Intel Pentium E5200 dual-core - Bus speed: 800MHz. He wants to upgrade the processor now. His birthday is next week so we are trying to figure out which one to get. The motherboard supports 5 different ones but we are thinking about the Intel Core 2 Duo (Wolfdale) E8480 processor.
I would like to hear some input on what would be the best processor to enhance his gaming experience with the computer that he has.

 

According to the motherboard specs, it does support a 1333 MHz CPU so I can't imagine it not being able to support a Core2 Quad unless the chipset has some sort of odd limitation because it's an HP board.

BUT, your "bottleneck" is not the CPU, it's the 128MB integrated graphics.

What kind of games does he play?

 

I'm headed off to bed, but I would recommend a graphics card upgrade, before a CPU upgrade.

I did find a CPU at one of my favorite small time outlets in Florida, and it's the best bang for the buck considering they are still asking WAY too much money for the 6MB cache quads at alot of places. Don't ask about the 12MB version, they are $300 easy:

http://www.starmicroinc.net/product...-25Ghz-1333Mhz-6MB-cocket-775-CPU-OEM-SLAWE-/


As far as a graphics card upgrade, you should have an empty PCI-e slot because the graphics you are running are integrated into the motherboard itself. We would need to know what he is playing to make a solid determination.

 

He plays Minecraft, Bioshock 2, Deus ex Human Revolution, Skyrim, Magicka, RAGE, Sanctum, Saints Row 2, Rock of Ages and Amnesia: The Dark Descent - are a few that he plays.

 

Personally, I prefer to match chipsets and this is a nice nVidia card for the price:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121630


What are you looking to spend, and is his monitor digital? As in, is there an off white connector with mostly rectangular pins?

 

No his monitor is not digital. He prefers the big, bulky old style monitor. As far as what we are going to spend - I'd like to keep in under $150.00 if possible.

 

We do have a extra digital monitor that he could switch to.

 

The more I look at this, the more I wonder if it's worth the trouble to be honest. The case doesn't have alot of room to work with, and you would need a new power supply to power a graphics card. The OEM power supply is only 160 watts. The other problem is this is an HP Slimline PSU, so it's really not an industry standard. The highest wattage you can get would be 300 at a reasonable price.

I hate to be the harbinger of bad news, but the best thing you can probably do is go halves with him on a barebone system that is a little more modern, i.e., around $300, instead of upgrading this model.

It is what I affectionately call a "dead end" tower, because it isn't really designed to be upgraded easily.

You could get a case, normal ATX power supply, a card, and then use the hardware you have. That is a possiblity, but by the time you did that, you could get a barebones kit to build yourself. It might even be fun for him.

 

This is quite basic, and the graphics are part of the CPU. It's a recently developed concept called an APU. This is the most affordable barbones package currently available.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2339666&CatId=332

Goodnight...

 

Yes I was afraid that might be a problem i.e. space in that little box. OK that's something to think about. I really appreciate all your help.